In the industry of metal finishing all of the process steps and control parameters are critical. Naturally most of all of the process steps are scrutinized, tracked, and analyzed, however often times those process steps that may not seem as critical should be not be taken lightly. One of these often over looked areas is rinsing and what constitutes good and efficient rinsing. The critical nature of rinsing can be measured in many ways such as component quality, process solution contamination or overall line process quality. The metrics may vary from application to application. Naturally … [Read more...]
November 3, 2015 By
Eliminating Cyanide from Your Copper Plating Process
There are a variety of copper plating technologies. These include acid copper, electroless copper, alkaline non-cyanide copper and alkaline cyanide copper. With the EPA’s Common Sense Initiative, plating facilities are moving away from the cyanide copper processes. The Common Sense Initiative impacts the automotive, iron and steel, computers and electronics, printing, petroleum refining and metal finishing industries. Its objective is to reduce or prevent pollution and the plan assigned a high priority to reducing or eliminating emissions of hexavalent chrome, chlorinated solvents, cadmium … [Read more...]
October 29, 2015 By
4 Quick Chromate Tips for the Winter
As we head into the fall and winter months, no doubt the service phone will start ringing about chromate rub off on zinc plated parts due to ambient going from temperatures in the 80s and 90s to temperatures in the 60s (and in some plants saving on heating bills, chromates may be trying to work as low as temperatures in the 50s). But as we see a rise in the trivalent chemistries and less of the "ambient" running hexavalent chromates, the simple fix of raising the temperature may not be the solution to the rub-off headache during these cold days of winter. Here are a few other quick tips to … [Read more...]
October 20, 2015 By
Hard Chrome Plating
The process of hard chrome plating has been used since the early part of the 20th century. It is a process that is used in nearly every aspect of manufacturing where wear resistance and lubricity are critical. Typically coating thickness deposited are between 8 to 250 mm (0.00032”-.0098”) and hardness between 800-1000HV. High hardness and resistance to abrasion are retained unchanged up to 200oC. Early processes were standard chromic acid and sulfate processes. The late 1940’s gave to processes that used anions such as fluoride to improve plating rates and finish quality. Evolutions in the … [Read more...]
October 2, 2015 By
Winning the War on Filth Part 1
Frustrated yet? I know I am. Over the last few years I have seen an increased number of parts showing up on my clients plating lines with more soils than ever before. This list includes stamping and machining oils as well as lubricants, rp's, and coolants. The part that frustrates me is that the soils I am seeing day after day are typically not new synthetics or reformulated petroleum based products. Instead, these are the same products that have been used for years, but now are used in quantities far greater than needed. Since it appears nobody can protect our process lines from the … [Read more...]
September 24, 2015 By
Zinc Plating
Years ago zinc plating was used for corrosion protection and was mainly applied using a cyanide based process. The process of plating zinc from an Acid Bath brought with it brighter deposit and Zinc Plating became a cosmetic finish as well as corrosion protective finish. In recent years the process of plating Zinc from an Alkaline Non Cyanide solution has been perfected. Today nearly all Zinc is plated from either the Acid Zinc or the Alkaline Non Cyanide processes. Each process has its positive and negative points. Acid Zinc produces a bright, level, Chrome like finish. The Alkaline … [Read more...]
September 16, 2015 By
Acid Wetter vs. Acid Inhibitor
In the process of electroplating of most ferrous substrates the pretreatment is extremely important since this is where it all begins. The pretreatment process is the foundation to the rest of the process being successful. Improper pretreatment may lead to poor plate coverage, poor adhesion, premature corrosion failures, and the list goes on. In the ferrous pretreatment process the typical process consists of an alkaline soak clean to remove surface soils such as cutting and lapping oils, stamping lubes, buffing compounds, heat treat oils, and rust preventatives. The soak clean provides for … [Read more...]
September 3, 2015 By
Troubleshooting a Nickel Bath: Zinc Contamination
So it’s happened; someone accidentally added zinc anodes to the nickel bath. What can you do? Well, the easiest and most expensive option is to just dump the bath and make it up fresh. While this is a great way to ensure your sales representative remembers you come Christmas time, it won’t put you on your boss’ good side. Instead, you can opt to either dummy plate or complex the zinc metal out of solution. Dummy Plating Let’s take a look at dummy plating, and I’m not referring to when you have the new guy try to plate some parts. Dummy plating is a process by which we can remove unwanted … [Read more...]
August 5, 2015 By
What is a Procedure-Based Maintenance Organization?
When I was 19 years old I joined the Navy. I was assigned to work on submarines and spent much of my time in the service under water. Floating under the water in a hopefully airtight vessel will focus your mind on the importance of maintaining equipment. I was assigned to the Attack Submarine USS Snook (SSN-592). During my time onboard I was forced to become familiar with the “Submarine Safety” (SUBSAFE) program. In fact , the Navy taught me a few things. First, I learned the importance of check lists. Second, I was introduced to the need for standard operating procedures. Finally, I was … [Read more...]
July 13, 2015 By
What are you putting in your tank?
Have you ever heard the expression “the devil is in the details”? How many times do we think we have covered everything only to find out that some of the basic things get overlooked? One of the details that I find frequently overlooked is accounting for ALL components that make up a process tank. Standard Components in a Watt's Nickel Plating Bath For example, let’s take a look at a standard Watt’s nickel plating bath. The components that are commonly tested for are nickel metal, nickel sulfate, nickel chloride, boric acid, surface tension, carrier concentration, pH, and secondary … [Read more...]